Impact of long-term temperature shifts on activated sludge microbiome dynamics and micropollutant removal

Abstract

Micropollutants removal efficiency strongly vary across different aerobic wastewater treatment plants, resulting in their frequent detection in surface and ground waters. Seasonal temperature variation is a major factor influencing plant performance, but it is still unclear how prolonged periods of temperature change impact microbiome and micropollutant biotransformation. This work investigates the effect of long-term temperature variation on the microbial dynamics in an activated sludge system, and the impact on micropollutant biotransformation. Sequencing batch reactors were used as model system and 4–40 °C temperature range was studied. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that temperature drives microbial structure (gDNA) and activity (RNA), rather than time, and this was stronger below 15 °C and above 25 °C. The microbial community was richest and more diverse at 20 °C, while rarer and more specific taxa became predominant over time, at more extreme temperatures. This suggested that less abundant taxa might be responsible for maintaining the biotransformation capability in the activated sludge at extreme temperatures. Micropollutant biotransformation rates mostly deviated from the classic Arrhenius model below 15 °C and above 25 °C, indicating that prolonged exposure to temperature changes leads to temperature-induced taxonomic shifts, resulting in the emerging of different sets of biotransformation pathways over different temperature ranges.